The Invisible Army 2. How Do We Better Support Our Independent Producers?

9 January 2015

The Invisible Army 2. How Do We Better Support Our Independent Producers?

Dance City, Newcastle upon Tyne.

11:00-15:15

An Open Space event about independent producers and producing.

Proposed by Emily Coleman, Ruth Dudman and Lucy Moore on behalf of SOUPing*

Back in March 2013, we co-hosted “Devoted and Disgruntled: The Invisible Army” with indie producer Jo Hammett and Improbable at the Young Vic. There’s still more to say, so we’re bringing the discussion around Independent Producing to the North-East as Devoted and Disgruntled Allies.

It is brilliant that an increasing number of exceptional people are producing work independently –passionate people supporting an extraordinary number of artists whose work is reaching high numbers of audiences, across art forms and across the UK. And yet this growing army of hardworking individuals can still feel invisible. All too often independent producers are under valued and under paid with limited opportunities for professional development and support.

The Invisible Army event in 2013 was a great way to meet and start conversations. Almost two-years on (!) Invisible Army 2 is a chance to get together again, to continue talking, to reflect on what has happened since we last met; and to take stock of what’s going on today. We’re delighted that Invisible Army 2 will be part of the Producer Gathering hosted by The Empty Space and Dance City and look forward to seeing producers new and old from across the UK in Newcastle. Full information of the Producer Gathering can be found at

How we keep in touch

As well as contacting you about administrative issues connected to your report submissions, donations or event bookings, we would love your consent to tell you about upcoming Devoted & Disgruntled events, and Improbable news and productions. We won't share your details with third parties. For more information, please see our Privacy Policy.

We will normally only ever contact you via email. However, if you prefer to be contacted in another way, please select channels below.

If you'd rather we didn't contact you at all, please leave all channel options blank.

Your Privacy

We store all your personal details securely. We'll use your data to communicate with you in the ways you have specified, and may use data for analysis to make sure we're providing the best service possible. for more information, please see our Privacy Policy.

Where

When

Latest

A discussion about how to create a genuinely safe and open atmosphere in improv classes from the first class someone takes.
How do we protect students from potentially harmful experiences which can arise from the rigidity or literal interpretation of 'Yes, and' ?

These are notes taken as Guy Hartnell shared about the Oogly Boogly project, where performers improvised with babies by copying their movements and sounds, while the babies' parents watched. It took place inside a large inflatable venue. The notes were taken by Catherine Ryan.

This was an experimental workshop combining the work of Frank Torino and Richard Coaten who met on the pavement on the way to Day 4. I discovered Frank had an interest in mental health and in improv work with theatre students in Denmark, mine was in how carers of people living with dementia might benefit from having access to improvisation and its role in maintaining their resilience, quality of life and relationship with their loved ones...meta theme - great link made between Franks' You Be Me'

By “othering”, we mean the process, actions or words which can make an individual or group feel isolated. IE a group or individual identifying another person as ‘not one of us’. Social codes, subtle or extreme, along with stigmas are often attributed to the excluded group, individual or body. They are reduced to a singular meaning which ignores the many intersectional characteristics and experiences every person has in their lives.

Creative producing is a term that has emerged over the past 20 years, but its definition is very much up for discussion. I was interested to learn how other artists, producers and creatives percieve the term ‘Creative Producer’ as opposed to simply ‘Producer’ and how their expectation of this persons role changes depending on how they define themselves.

As a community we talk a lot about how venues should support artists. More money, more space, more dates, more artist development opportunities. Across the country we now have all kinds of venues establishing really great relationships with artists and their work, and when this works it is fantastic.

There is a freedom to edit that comes with the death of a playwright. Suddenly, their works are reinterpreted, their entire canon is pored over - their manuscripts, their letters, their lesser-known works.
You Are Already Dead is an event that seeks to synthesise this post-mortem treatment of the work of living writers.
The unformed nature of this idea led, naturally, to more questions than answers.

Part of the Fringe Central Programme for Fringe participants. Artist, technician, venue staff or audience member – you’ll know the pains as well as the joys of the Fringe. This is your chance to help make the Fringe work better for the very people who give it reason. You. Bring your own questions and ideas – you set the agenda and nothing is censored. An open space – come for as much or as little as you want.

Sign up for our newsletter

First name

Last name

Email

By signing up to our newsletter, you are giving your consent for us to contact you via email with news of Devoted & Disgruntled events and other projects run by Improbable. For more details on how we hold your data and how we are complying with GDPR, please see the Privacy Policy.